December 17, 2007

Boxscore

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky.—Senior forward Danielle Norman (Bronx, N.Y.) notched her third double-double of the season to lead St. Andrews Presbyterian College in the Travel America Classic (hosted by Northern Kentucky), but Kentucky Wesleyan College won the tournament opener 73-56 on Monday evening.

Norman finished with game-highs of 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Lady Knights (1-5) while the Lady Panthers (4-2) scored 45 points in the second half on 54.8-percent shooting to pull away to their third straight win.

Kentucky Wesleyan held a single-digit lead for most of the first half but a pair of free throws by junior Desiree Jones (Tulsa, Okla.) followed by a basket from senior April Johnson (McColl, S.C) gave SAPC a 20-17 lead midway through the opening frame.

The Lady Panthers followed with an 11-0 run to take their largest lead of the first period, 28-20, but the Knights scored the final four points before the intermission on a bucket by senior Erika Thompson (Kalamazoo, Mich.) and two free throws by Norman to cut the halftime deficit in half at 28-24.

Norman led the Knights into the locker room with six points and five rebounds while freshman Lalita Middleton (North Charleston, S.C.) scored all six of her points on a pair of three-pointers.

Kentucky Wesleyan made 41.4-percent of its shots in the first half while St. Andrews only converted on 26.9%.

A Norman lay-up midway through the second half kept the Knights within eight, 49-41, but the Panthers followed her hoop with a 13-0 run to pull away. St. Andrews was held scoreless for more than four minutes and the Knights were unable to recover falling behind by 21 points at the end of the Kentucky Wesleyan surge.

KWC made 17-of-31 (54.8%) attempts from the field in the second half including 4-of-5 (80.0%) from behind the arc in the final 20 minutes. SAPC held a slim 40-39 edge on the boards but finished the game shooting at just 32.8% accuracy.

Norman made 9-of-12 free throws en route to her game high 19 points while eight of her 11 rebounds came on the offensive end of the court. Norman has three double-doubles in six games.

Middleton tied her season-high with 12 points while Thompson and senior Jessy Perkins (Goldsboro, N.C.) added nine and six points, respectively. Middleton and freshman Franchaze Waters (Annapolis, Md.) each pulled down five boards.

Four Panthers scored in double-digits including a team-high 15 from Candace Garrett. LaTasha Henry just missed a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds. Ashley Pait and Chelsea Kilty chipped in with 12 points apiece.

St. Andrews will next face host and No. 13 nationally ranked Northern Kentucky in the finale of the Travel America Classic on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.